Processing at Old Stone House

on view until 2/15/19

On Saturday, October 20, The Old Stone House & Washington Park (OSH) will host an opening reception for Processing, an exhibition of current work by The Swimmers of GSS.

“Processing” is defined as “a series of changes taking place in a definite manner,” including the “systematic organization, treatment or preparation of materials.” The artists in Processing all manipulate art materials through intentional, systematic procedures that sometimes incorporate chance. The resulting work teeters between representation and abstraction – teasing recognizable forms out of abstract ones or abstracting recognizable elements through stripping down or layering/obscuring. Specific works were selected for the exhibition that can trace the evolution of most artists’ work processes.

Psychologists refer to “processing trauma” as transforming painful emotions into constructive meaning. Many of these artists view their practice as a way to elucidate or overcome specific personal or societal obsessions, fears, or anxieties—such that the manipulation of art materials becomes a therapeutic process.

The opening of Processing coincides with Gowanus Open Studios (GOS) an annual weekend-long event in which local artists invite the public into their studios. By continuing to participate in GOS each year, OSH hopes to both support local artists and call attention to their increased displacement from this community as a result of gentrification. Once all based out of a no longer extant central Gowanus location, the Gowanus Swim Society artists are now dispersed across New York City or other cities. These shifts have also impacted their individual and collective work processes.

About The CuratorKatherine Gressel, the Old Stone House & Washington Park’s Contemporary Art Curator, is a New York‐based curator, artist, and writer focused on site‐specific art. She earned her BA in art from Yale and MA in arts administration from Columbia. Katherine’s previous exhibits dealing with such topics as income inequality, urban agriculture, and parks have been recognized by the New York Times, Time Out New York, Hyperallergic, News 12 Brooklyn, and DNAInfo. In addition to organizing nine major exhibitions to date at the Old Stone House, Katherine has curated for FIGMENT, No Longer Empty, and Brooklyn Historical Society, and was the 2016 NARS Foundation emerging curator. She was selected for the 2015 Independent Curators International (ICI) Curatorial Intensive in New Orleans. Katherine has written and presented on public and community art issues for Createquity, Americans for the Arts, and Public Art Dialogue, among others. Katherine also served as Programs Manager at Smack Mellon Gallery from 2010-2014, and has worked and consulted for diverse nonprofits in the areas of arts education, project management, and development.

About the Old Stone House & Washington ParkThe Old Stone House & Washington Park—site of the Battle of Brooklyn/August 1776 and the original home of the Brooklyn Dodgers and a member of the Historic House Trust of New York City—was originally built in 1699. The House was an active farm for nearly 100 years. Today, OSH is a year-round site for culture, education and recreation-- providing relevant experiences around Brooklyn’s past, present and future.

Funding for Processing is made possible, in part, by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.